“Silverhawk was clearly connected to our quarry,” she concluded, “but he wasn’t the mastermind.”
“This writing looks familiar,” he said thoughtfully.
“Yes, it’s Dark Star’s.” Riverton gestured toward another pile of papers. “We’ve seen that mark before.”
He’d already recognized the unique mark, but that wasn’t what he was focusing on. He hadn’t noticed the specifics of Dark Star’s penmanship before, but in a letter this long he noticed a familiar pattern.
“Looks like Silverhawk was being blackmailed in turn.” Liam tried to draw a connection. “Why would Dark Star be interested in this at all? Did the Brightlakes have gambling debts?”
“No. And nor do the Templegreys.”
“But somebody clearly wants to punish them enough to blackmail a high lord into legalizing their dirty work.”
“Do you know of any connections between the two families? Any business dealings?”
“Well, Ava did mention that her father’s cousin, Lord Fairfield, married Brightlake’s daughter, but they were both lost in that storm fifteen years ago.”
He handed the letter back to Riverton. She examined it again.
“The more I look at this,” she said, “I actually wonder at Dark Star’s education.”
“Oh?”
“The style of penmanship is remarkably similar to what I learned at school. I might inquire into the fates of my various classmates—see if there’s anything odd.”
So he wasn’t the only one picking up on the handwriting. A sudden, stunning thought struck him and he burst to his feet, already heading for the door as he shot back, “Captain, I need to check something.”
Chapter 13
Amelia watched as Sam and Bella stepped forward cautiously, their heads lifting up to peer through the clear canopy of the bridge. It was the first time they’d been allowed up here, and Templegrey watched them warily from the officer of the watch station. The other members of the bridge crew glanced back from their stations, but no one offered comment. The tone of the visit was being set by Riverton’s serene expression as she sat in her chair, then turned to face her guests.
“So,” Sam said finally, “this is Sectoid space.”
“Doesn’t look much different from Human space,” Bella added.
“I know you find our notions of ownership puzzling,” Riverton replied, “but I assure you there is no uncertainty on the part of our Emperor or the Sectoid Queen. Daring has crossed a line that no Human ship has ever crossed peacefully before.”
Sam’s gaze scanned right to left across the field of stars. “Where is this line?”
“On our charts, in our minds, and”—she tapped her chest—“in our hearts.”
The Theropods looked at each other. Bella cocked her head.
“We don’t understand,” she admitted, “but we accept it.”
“Why are we here,” Sam asked, “if it is such an offense to cross this line?”
“Because,” Riverton said, turning forward and crossing one leg over the other, “we need to disappear. After our exposure at Morassia every agent of Dark Star knows this ship, and word will spread that we are a wanted crew. Every petty gang in the Halo will be looking for us, hoping for a reward from Dark Star.”
“And by crossing this invisible line you disappear?”
“In a way. It will never occur to anyone to look for us here. By leaving Human space, we effectively don’t exist anymore.”
“In minds and hearts,” Bella offered.
“Exactly.”
The Theropods looked at each other again but said nothing. Amelia had thoroughly enjoyed the philosophical conversations of the past few weeks, as Daring’s guests had puzzled their way through Human customs and ideas. No doubt they’d learned a great deal in their years running the Cup of Plenty, but grand concepts like empire and sovereignty had probably not been too relevant on Windfall Station. That backwater, she realized, would have suited Theropods well. Just enough rules to avoid anarchy, but otherwise everyone was free to do as they wished. She often wondered how Sam and Bella were really adapting to the highly structured life aboard a Navy ship, or if they even realized just how organized things were around them.
“Quartermaster,” Riverton said, looking over her shoulder, “would you go and find the XO, please?”
“Yes, ma’am,” she replied as rehearsed. “May Sam and Bella stay on the bridge for a while?”
“Of course.” The captain turned her gaze back to them, adopting a conversational pose. “Tell me about how you met.”
Amelia heard Bella’s bark as she started to regale the story of their first encounter, but the words disappeared as Amelia climbed down the ladder and departed. This whole visit was a ploy to keep the Theropods fully engaged and away from the senior mess, but at least the captain had the courtesy to make it a hosted visit to the bridge rather than a confinement to their quarters. She really was a diplomat, Amelia thought, when she wanted to be.
It was no coincidence that Templegrey had the watch, either. Not a word had been spoken among the officers and chiefs, but it was abundantly clear that Riverton didn’t trust the doctor. The crew loved the fact that Dr. Templegrey had taken over some cleaning duties as part of her “health inspections” but no one in the senior mess was fooled into believing that this was anything other than an excruciating punishment. Amelia didn’t know what Ava had done, but whatever it was had chastened her. Amelia found she missed the fun, flirty woman who had always brightened the senior mess—these days Templegrey said little and rarely socialized outside of meals. Liam was frustratingly tight-lipped about it, and Amelia wondered if it was some noble spat.
She was the last to arrive for the meeting in the senior mess, taking her seat at the table and examining the chart laid out between everyone. It showed their local section of the Halo, with a clear line weaving between systems designating the borders between Human, Sectoid, and Aquan space.
“Quartermaster, good,” Liam greeted from the head of the table. “Let’s get started. The captain’s diplomatic contacts have given us this sanctuary in Sectoid space, but our presence here won’t be tolerated for long. And every day we sit here is another day closer to Dark Star’s forces moving on Honoria. We need to figure out where we’re going next and get there fast: based on Aquan intelligence we have just over a week.”
“I hope you want to head this way,” Swift said, passing his hand over the chart in a general direction away from the Hub. “The winds are strong right now and from the reports we’ve received the outward blows are going to continue for the next few weeks.”
Liam gestured toward a set of systems. “Good news, then, because Charlotte has finished chasing down the pirate shipments and we have two possible systems where we strongly suspect Dark Star could be personally based. And they’re out here, near Aquan space: Morassia or Labyrinthia.”
Brown leaned in and outlined their thinking, taking a few minutes to describe clues found in the hundreds of documents Daring had captured over the months. Pirate attacks were widespread throughout the Halo, but the smuggling activity that clearly funded the bulk of Dark Star’s ambitions could be traced back to a local cluster of systems. Morassia seemed to be developing as a new pirate stronghold as Silica’s influence waned after the destruction of the comet base, but their previous attempt to investigate had been cut short by Silverhawk’s betrayal. And while Honoria was clearly the current focus for future attacks, most funding was from the gold smuggled out of Labyrinthia.
“From our position,” Liam added, “we have the time to reach either Morassia or Labyrinthia before Dark Star moves in force, but not both—so we best choose wisely.”
Amelia studied the chart, as if some navigational clue might leap out and reveal Dark Star’s location. Around her the senior staff frowned blankly, but she could see a focused gleam in Liam’s thoughtful gaze.
“Are we expecting a bunch of criminals,” Butcher asked, “or a bunch of rebel
s?”
“We’re not sure,” Liam admitted. “But ultimately it doesn’t matter. Our orders are specific: hunt down Dark Star and decapitate this organization.”
“But it does matter,” Amelia protested, noting all eyes turn to her. “If this is a criminal organization, then taking out Dark Star will just let another thug take over. If it’s a revolution, then we might make Dark Star a martyr and create a bigger problem.”
“This is something different from both of those scenarios,” Liam insisted. He paused, and in the silence Amelia could tell he was choosing his words carefully. “It’s too focused on the nobility to be common criminals, but it doesn’t have the ringing propaganda of a local rebellion.”
“You’re right, sir,” Sky said. “It doesn’t matter, because we have our orders.”
“But it helps to know what we’re up against,” Swift said, pointing at Morassia and Labyrinthia on the chart. “Do you think Dark Star has active control of these systems?”
“It’s a shame we couldn’t capture Silverhawk’s ship,” Butcher growled. “That traitor probably knew everything.”
“Well we didn’t,” Liam snapped. “But we got our people out of there safely, and the Empire is rid of a useless twit.”
Amelia started. Liam never spoke against his fellow nobility so openly. Something was clearly agitating him.
“What we’re trying to find,” he continued, studying the chart, “is a place called ‘the boathouse.’ It was mentioned specifically, in Dark Star’s own hand, as a location to bring Captain Stonebridge when they captured him.”
“Interesting that you were to be captured,” Brown said, “and not killed like the other noble targets.”
“Maybe we’ve done enough damage that Sophia’s Fancy and her captain have earned an audience,” Swift suggested.
“Sounds a bit like a petty emperor in the making,” Sky scoffed. “Granting audiences.”
“Didn’t you say that Dark Star had excellent penmanship?” Butcher asked.
“Yes,” Liam said, nodding slowly. “Clearly an educated hand.”
“Could Dark Star be a noble, somehow gone rogue?”
“That would be impossible,” Liam replied, although Amelia saw a flicker of doubt in his eyes. “The thing about noble titles is that they’re hard to shake. The Empire keeps track of its nobles—we’re not allowed to go rogue.” He sighed. “And why would we? There’s no benefit to giving up our titles. If we want to cause trouble we just do so within the system, like Silverhawk did.”
Amelia caught his eye, giving him a wry smile. He was wedded to this system, but at least he could see its flaws.
“So someone educated,” Sky said, “with an axe to grind with the nobility, operating for at least the past twelve years, and hiding out in some place called ‘the boathouse.’ Any ideas?”
Silence fell at the table again, all eyes on the chart.
“Where is Admiral Grandview’s squadron?” Swift asked.
“Last we heard, here,” Brown replied, indicating a rough area on the chart several days away.
“Close enough to reach Morassia or Labyrinthia, so that they can support us,” Swift noted. “Let’s hope we pick the right system.”
Amelia was still watching Liam, and she caught the spark in his eyes just before he clamped it down with a noble mask. He leaned forward, tapping the chart.
“It’s Labyrinthia,” he declared. “That’s where Dark Star is based.”
Glances flashed around the table. Amelia watched Liam carefully, recognizing the façade of his calm, almost disinterested, expression.
“Why is that, sir?” Brown asked.
“That system is a maze of captured planets, asteroids, and dust clouds,” he said smoothly. “It’s the perfect place to hide. It has the regular smuggled ore shipments that we’ve seen are an excellent way to make money to fund the pirate activity. It’s the most populated system in this corner of the Halo but it has almost no central authority and no noble holdings—so no one to cause trouble or get jealous as one person quietly takes control.”
He looked around the table, inviting comment. Amelia knew there was something more in his mind but held her tongue.
“Makes sense to me,” Swift said.
“It’ll take us five days to get there,” Brown added, checking her calculations, “with current winds.”
Liam rose from his seat, decision made.
“I’ll brief the captain.”
The transit through Sectoid space was uneventful, as Daring became a shadow in the darkness. It was another four days before she altered course for Human space again, and Amelia got the sense from the officers that any pursuers were weeks away by now. A lone signal had been sent to Rear Admiral Grandview and his squadron of corvettes, but otherwise the ship continued in silent sailing, keeping the distant Hub to starboard as she tacked against the freshening winds.
As the wildlands of Labyrinthia approached, Amelia found herself making any excuse to come to the bridge and watch as the glowing clouds of dust grew larger ahead. The ancient remains of a supernova cloud had over the millennia been pushed by the solar winds into a tangle of streams that sparkled as the charged energy from the Hub flowed through them. The former giant sun had drawn millions of tiny objects into orbit and the final explosion had scattered them throughout the system. Labyrinthia was truly a maze of free-flying objects, random orbits, asteroid clusters, and obscuring dust clouds. A tiny white dwarf at the center held the chaos loosely together, but beyond the few major bodies nothing was stable. Daring navigated by sight through the maelstrom, closing on the largest world.
Or remains of a world, Amelia realized as she stepped up onto the bridge in her civilian clothes. Against a backdrop of lightning that streaked down one of the nearby dust clouds she laid eyes on their destination.
“Wow,” she managed, stepping up to Liam near the command chair.
“Makes it clear why mining is so lucrative here,” he commented. “You don’t even have to dig.”
One half of the planet glistened in the dull starlight, its icy surface white with a myriad of dark cracks. The other half . . . was gone. Amelia stared in astonishment at the ragged edge of the world. Her mind kept trying to tell her that it was just the shadow of the night side, but the glowing dust clouds behind it revealed the violent truth. She was looking at a half planet, torn in two by unimaginable forces. The distant lights of civilization dotted the tortured surface of what had once been the planet’s interior.
“I guess supernovas aren’t gentle,” she commented.
“This was one of the lucky ones,” he replied. “At least part of it’s still here.”
“And apparently still home to many.”
“Yes.” Liam glanced at his own rugged clothing, then at Amelia’s. “This first visit is going to be in and out. We make contact with the captain’s Aquan friends, we arrange for stores, and maybe we take a quick look around. But nothing more.”
“They’re not my friends,” Riverton said. “They were listed as reasonably trustworthy merchants through my diplomatic channels.”
“Reassuring words, ma’am.”
“All the more reason to stick to your plan. Have a look around and report back. When we go in, we’re going with force. There’s been no signal from Rear Admiral Grandview, so there’s no telling how far away his squadron is. Until he arrives, we watch and wait.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“You understand, XO?” she asked, actually reaching out to grip his sleeve. “Reconnaissance only. Get the information and get out of there.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
After the ambush on Windfall, Amelia well understood the captain’s aversion to risk. She doubted any Aquan merchants would be as helpful as their Theropod friends had been.
“We’re in boat range,” Brown said from the officer of the watch station. “You’re free to deploy at any time.”
“We’ll go now, ma’am,” Liam said to Riverton, “and get clea
r of Daring before anyone notices her, just in case they’re watching.”
“Very well. Fair winds, XO.”
“Following rays, Captain.”
Amelia followed Liam down the ladders, heading forward to the boat airlock. Swift and Sky were waiting, both in rugged civilian attire that was bulky enough to hide an assortment of weapons. Amelia adjusted the pistol under her shoulder and grasped the dagger at her belt. She’d have felt better if she could have brought her spiked gauntlets, but today was all about blending in.
Faith and Hunter were both manning the single boat, and once everyone had climbed aboard they set off efficiently. Daring fell astern, all four masts still extended as her sails struggled in the scattered currents of Labyrinthia. Amelia cast her gaze across the vivid sky of dust clouds, watching the charges streak down them. There was scattered traffic around the planet as they approached, and no one seemed to take any notice of them. They were just another small craft headed for the surface.
As they descended, though, she realized that “surface” was a subjective term. The smooth ice sheets coating the crust of the world were deserted, and all the lights of civilization were dotted among the torn and shattered rocks that had once been the planet’s interior. The settlements were nestled in the flat crevices between jagged pillars of rock. Amelia might have been tempted to call these pillars mountains for their size, but there was no sense or structure to any of them. These mountains hadn’t been caused by volcanoes or plate tectonics but were the remnants of sheer destruction as a world was torn apart.
The boat dropped below the highest of the peaks, aiming for the lights of what Daring’s charts had reported as one of the largest settlements. All eyes watched the alien landscape rise around them, and Amelia could tell that even her seasoned companions had never seen anything like this before. The starlight disappeared as the ragged mountains towered ever higher above the boat, but it was finally replaced by a glow from below.
“We’re into atmosphere,” Faith reported.
Dark Star Rising Page 22
